David A, I totally agree. Breifing just doesn't "get it". How they can still be recommending ASND is beyond me. Meanwhile they have been "calling for" the demise of CPQ for quite some time now, based on "valuations". Uh,..right. I'm going to vent here, and I hope I feel much better after I do:
Based on today's closing prices, we have:
CPQ, price-sales ratio of 1.1
ASND price-sales ratio of 10.9
CPQ trailing PE of 15.5
ASND trailing PE of 46
Stock Price Performance, last 52 weeks:
CPQ, (+)88.9%
ASND, (-)19.7%
One would think that even after a year, Briefing.com would start to see the pattern forming.
I know that the EPS growth has been and will continue to be higher for ASND than CPQ, obviously. At the same time, it is plain that the market is no longer worshipping at the alter of high EPS growth rates, and investors will no longer pay *any amount* of money for that growth, seeing as it entails *some considerable risks*.
Briefing's bias can plainly be found below. Note that according to Briefing, ASND is apparently not breaking down technically, but is only "Slipping in response to USRX/COMS merger, but back at attractive levels given future growth prospects." However, CPQ is "Breaking down technically". Well excuse me, but they're both going down, no matter what spin Briefing wants to put on it. I don't own CPQ, but if CPQ hits the mid-sixties, I would be much more comfortable recommending CPQ to my friends than ASND.
From Briefing.com:
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Caution Advised:
AAPL - Massive job cuts... Too many questions, not
enough answers... Steady defections
CPQ - Breaking down technically... dollar
DEC - Earnings recently downgraded on dollar concerns.
SRA - Margins...demand...momentum.
Computer Networking
Brief:Bay Networksfell sharply again Tuesday... Stock subject of bearish comments in Barron's... BAY sets new 52-wk low, as investors no longer willing to bet on recovery... Vanstar downgraded by Ladenburg Thalman... 3Com reports earnings after the close on Thursday.
Components:Ascend Communications (ASND), Bay Networks (BAY), Cabletron Systems (CS), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Fore Systems (FORE), Newbridge Networks (NN), Shiva Corp. (SHVA), ThreeCom Corp (COMS), U.S. Robotics (USRX), Vanstar Corp. (VST)
Our Favorites:
ASND -Slipping in response to USRX/COMS merger, but back at attractive levels given future growth prospects.
CS - Strong networking company, impressive earnings growth/consistency, undervalued.
CSCO - Industry leader gets hit but l/t outlook excellent
COMS - Merger with U.S. Robotics should be l/t positive... Relative
values after recent sell-off.
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DK |
